Exciting day
for me last Friday as I tried a different pitch at the Global Woman Amsterdam monthly
networking event. (For those of you not familiar with the term pitch, it is basically
presenting your product or service to potential clients or investors). I was
very surprised at myself, that after years of public speaking, I still felt a massive
adrenaline rush standing up there. I guess it is a good thing as it pushes me
to do my best, but I realized more.
This time it
was about MY business. I was putting myself out there, whereas usually I am
presenting for an organization or a Club. Until recently, when I decided it was
time for me to really step out there, my clients had all just sort of found me
and I had never really had to “sell” KPC&C.
Let alone
the confidence issue, the big challenge of a pitch I found, was how, in a
limited period of time do you manage to convey WHO you are What you do, How you
do it and most importantly WHY you do it, whilst connecting with the audience in
an authentic way so they understand how you can help them.
I guess In
my case too it is relatively recently that I have decided to start ignoring
everyone’s advice that I need to niche, so I try to represent my 5 areas of
business under the red line of Connection and Communication as they all
correspond to a separate part of me where I believe I can help others.
I realized I
could technically pack in a surprising amount of words in 2 minutes but would
run the risk of leaving my audience gasping for air, and all the non-native
English speakers would hear would be an energetic blur. And less is more.
But I
managed, and it felt good. I was delighted to be approached by many women
entrepreneurs in the break wishing to take me up on my editing offer, so I
guess it worked.
Practice is
indeed the name of the game, and I am grateful to Global Woman for offering us a
safe platform to do so.
I did get
some help, which I owe to mention here. In August, fellow GW member Idelma del Mar
offered a great deal on a webinar entitled “Create your Golden Pitch”. For 5
days you received a daily email, video and set of exercises, with a live
Q&A on day 4 and you could submit your pitch for comments. The different
modules helped me a lot. I learnt the different sorts of pitches, the essential
ingredients and how to tie it all in together, plus you get a “Golden Format”
you can review before each pitch. Idelma herself is knowledgeable and charming
with a clear desire to help you succeed. More information at idelmadelmar.nl and iinfo@idelmadelmar.nl.
Once the
content is worked out, then it is time for challenge two: mastering the skills
of presentation, but more on that soon.
Happy
pitching to you all! It’s a great feeling to be able to word who you are and
what you stand for in a concise and impactful way!
#you deserve
to be heard
#let’s make
it happen!
